


featherlight

by Noa



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Addiction, Gen, Implied Relationship, Incest, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-28
Updated: 2013-09-28
Packaged: 2017-12-27 21:20:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/983746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noa/pseuds/Noa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Dave grows addicted to feeling free.</p>
            </blockquote>





	featherlight

“One more time.”

It’s late in the afternoon. They are alone, and Dirk doesn’t have to ask what Dave’s question refers to.

“It’s dangerous, Dave.”

Dave steps up to Dirk, who lowers his sword. Dave leans in, wraps his arms around Dirk’s neck, and softens his voice. Dirk quietly looks over Dave’s shoulder, feels his heartbeat, and realizes they’ll never get around to finishing their strife.

“It’s always been fine. C’mon, just a little bit. You need to practice right.” Dave’s points are valid, but Dirk is reluctant.

“I don’t think this is a good idea.” Dirk says, but his resistance is already melting away. Dave gently brushes his lips against Dirk’s ear.

“Please.”

“Once. Lie down.” Dirk’s surrender elicits a smile from Dave as he detaches himself from Dirk, and backs up to create a small distance between them.

“I’ll stand.” Dave says, and Dirk frowns.  
“You’ll-”  
“Dirk, please.”

They hold each other’s gaze for a while, until Dirk nods, resigning.

“Fine.”

Dave watches Dirk close his eyes for a moment, anticipation already making his heart skip a beat. The soft, fuchsia glow emitting from Dirk’s form begins to spread, and Dave takes a deep breath, as if he can inhale the light. It slowly envelops Dirk’s body, and Dave stares at Dirk’s hands, where the power gathers. He hears Dirk sigh, and Dave almost feels bad for doing this to him, but he has to. Just one more time. Dirk opens his eyes.

“Ready?” Dirk asks, though the way Dave gravitates towards him, already tells him all he needs to know. Dave swallows thickly, flexes his fingers by his sides.

“Yeah.”

More than ready.

Upon Dave’s answer, Dirk raises a radiating hand. Dave gasps when he feels the glow seep into his skin, then beyond his skin, past his blood, settling around something deeper. It feels cold, Dirk’s power pushing through his bones, and Dave’s eyelids flutter when it grips him, wraps around his insides, and draws tight.

Dave tries to calm his breathing as the icy, invisible hold on his core steadily grows stronger. He can hear Dirk breathing faster, too. His concentration is almost as audible as the crackling of the light swirling around him. Dave has to keep his eyes open- Dirk is so wildly beautiful like this. It’s like this is who he’s meant to be; Dirk is like a storm at sea, and Dave slices the sails of his ship, willing to sink. Willing to drown.

Dave sees Dirk’s fingers curl, and the pull sets in. Dave feels his body slowly bending into an arch; his head tips back a little as his chest pushes forward. Dave shivers as the cold grip of Dirk’s power intensifies, and something intangible inside of him is lifted up, raised to where his limbs can’t follow. He can feel it all so vividly, like strings drawn taut, his body struggling to hold on to his spirit. He looks at Dirk with half-lidded eyes, and finds his cool gaze, strong in concentration. When Dirk briefly glances back, Dave fails to keep his eyes open any longer.

A shaky breath flows past Dave’s lips as he surrenders to the force pulling him apart. Everything is dark, void, and for a second, there is nothing at all.

Then, his soul comes loose.

Dave’s body falls to its knees without a will to keep it standing. It’s bright, so fiercely bright, but what has no sight can’t be blinded, and Dave doesn’t see, he doesn’t smell, or hear, or touch, or feel- he just is. He is, and it’s overpowering, like all the ropes holding him down snapped at once. He burns, he chimes, and he’s so, so free.

It’s over far too soon. His spirit collapses back into him, drawn down like an anchor, and then Dave has lungs again (and a mouth with which to gasp for air). His senses return to him slowly; the ground below him feels surprisingly warm. Dirk lets him go gently, and the glow subsides. Dave keeps his eyes closed, trying to hold on to the final slivers of weightlessness, as the light fades from his heart. He shudders. As soon as it’s gone, Dirk shoots towards Dave.

Dave feels warm hands under his shoulders as Dirk carefully helps him back up to his feet. Dave’s trembling, readjusting to the weight of his bones, to the pressure of gravity pushing down on his body.

“You OK?” Dirk asks, concerned.  
“Yeah.” Dave replies weakly. He looks up to face Dirk (his head feels so heavy now), and manages a grin. “Thanks bro.”  
Dirk frowns, obviously not reassured in the slightest, but he doesn’t ask any further questions; He just wraps his arms around Dave, and holds him close.

Dave feels like he’s about to crush Dirk with his weight; his limbs are leaden, and every move he makes is so _slow_ , like he’s swimming upstream, or running underwater. The colors around him appear foggy, the feel of Dirk’s embrace is dull. He’s tired, unimaginably tired, and though he sees the worry on Dirk’s face, though he feels the strain in his body, all Dave can think about is doing it _again_.

-

They sleep in beds opposite of each other, sharing the same room. Dirk lies awake (as usual), his hands behind his head as he stares at the ceiling. From the other end of the room, Dave’s voice sounds soft.

“You awake?” Dave knows he doesn’t have to ask.  
“Yeah.” Dirk replies, and he turns on his side to find Dave in a similar position. “What’s up.”  
“What’s it feel like to you? Doing that creepy soul thing.”

Dirk takes a moment before he answers.

“Weird.” There’s really no way to describe it. “Unnatural. I guess.”  
“Oh.” Dave answers. Dirk can almost hear him thinking.  
“What about you?” Dirk asks. “Doesn’t it hurt?” Dirk hasn’t used his power often, but the times he has, his targets screamed in a way that haunts his daydreams and nightmares alike. Dave shakes his head.  
“No. It just feels, I don’t know, relieving. Light.”

“Is it worth risking your life for?” Dirk asks bitterly.  
“I’m not risking my life.” Dave says. “I trust you.”  
“But what if I can’t control it. What if something goes wrong.”  
“Dude, chill. That’s not gonna happen.”  
Dirk hums absently.

Dave watches him, pensive. He realizes Dirk can’t guarantee him anything when it comes to using his power. It’s about as unpredictable as time travel, just as complex and entangling. Still, nothing he’s experienced in the 16 years of his eventful life, can hold a candle to the feeling of being freed from your body. Even a second of that sensation is worth dying for. In fact, after that very first time --A strife had gotten a bit out of hand, and Dirk accidentally used his powers on Dave, who froze instantly. Thankfully, Dirk caught himself in time, and Dave has never heard a Strider apologize as much as Dirk did that night.-- Dave isn’t too sure he’d want to live without it.

“Today was the last time, right.” Dave is pulled from his thoughts by the sound of Dirk’s voice.  
“Yeah.”

(Dave figures that if it’s worth dying for, lying for it isn’t all that bad.)

_-fin_


End file.
